Image copyrightJaphia Gough‎Image caption
The group said they had been totally blown away by the number of boxes stuffed with treats donated for abandoned pets

Hundreds of abandoned pets will be getting festive treats on Christmas Day after generous animal lovers donated more than 1,000 presents to an appeal.

In October a group of Newport dog walkers started a shoe box appeal to give gifts to rescued rabbits, cats and dogs.

Since then more than 1,000 boxes filled with everything from festive jumpers to treats and tunnels have been donated.

Dog walker Rachel Hunter said the generosity had been "overwhelming".

"We thought we were going to get about 20 boxes, but it just exploded," she said.

The group had planned to stop collecting the donations last month but will keep collecting until Christmas Day to give presents to Newport City Dogs Home, Mittens Cat Rescue, and Friends of the Animals RCT.